W. C. Saul is one of the leading and successful members of the legal profession in Carroll, where he has practiced for a third of a century.  With a reputation in one of the most exacting professions that has won him a name for distinguished service second to none of his contemporaries, he has been equally distinguished in the sphere of private citizenship, having at all times taken an active and effective interest in everything relating to the welfare and progress of his city and county, and no resident of his community stands higher in public confidence and regard.

Mr. Saul was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, December 21, 1862, and is a son of James and Maria (Charles) Saul, who were natives of Ireland, whence they came to the United Stares in young manhood and womanhood.  They met here and were married in Camden, New Jersey, in 1851.  About 1858 they came to Iowa, locating in Cedar Rapids, where the father, although a shoemaker by trade, turned his attention to farming, buying a tract of land just over the line in Iowa county.  In 1879 he moved to Crawford county, this state, where he continued his farming operations several years, and then retired, living in Denison, that county, until his death, which occurred in 1916, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years.  The mother died March 19, 1918, at the age of eighty-four years.

W. C. Saul was reared on the home farm, attended the district schools and then took an academic course at Carroll College, in Mt. Vernon, Linn county, where he was graduated in  1883.  Going to Chadron, Nebraska, he engaged in railroad work for two years, and during the ensuing four years engaged in teaching school.  In 1891, he secured a position in the railway mail service, with which he remained for twelve years.  In 1893 he entered the law office of F. M. Powers, in the same room where he has practiced law for the past thirty-three years, and here he spent two years in the study of law.  In 1895 he was admitted to the bar and has been engaged in the active practice of his profession here continuously since.  In his law work he has embodied all that pertains to the best ideals of the profession - uprightness of conduct, absolute integrity in the management of all cases, courtesy to opponents, firmness in presenting the facts for every client.  He is tenacious of every opinion which he believes to be valid, and presents it with an acuteness of intellect, a power of logic and a lucidity of expression excelled by none of his brethren.  He has no superior in his splendid powers of discriminating analysis and has been notably successful in general practice.

In 1885 Mr. Saul was united in marriage to Miss Elida J. Thomas, of Dow City,  Iowa, and they are the parents of three living children:  W. Irving, who is his father's associate in the practice of law; Major Leslie T., who graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1916, and is now stationed at Vancouver Barracks, Washington; and Jean Elizabeth, who is a sophomore in Cornell College, Iowa.  Mr. Saul is a member of Signet Lodge, No. 264, A. F. & A. M.; Capstone Chapter, No. 78, R. A. M.; Cryptic Council, No. 38, R. & S.M., and Azgad Commandery, No. 63, K. T., of which he was the first eminent commander.  He is also a member of the Carroll Citizens' Club and the Carroll Country Club.  He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is chairman of the official board.  He has always consistently stood for all that is best in the life of the community and has been a potent factor in advancing the civic and moral welfare of the people.

W. Irving Saul was born in Denison, Crawford county, Iowa, on the 25th of January, 1887, and secured his preliminary education in the Carroll public schools, graduating from high school in 1904.  During the following three years he attended Iowa State College, at Ames, and for about four years he worked as an electrician, being employed in various cities.  In 1911 he accepted the position of editor of the Carroll Herald, serving one year, and then bought the Breda News, at Breda, Iowa, which he published for a year and a half, when he sold it to J. J. Smid, who is still operating the plant.  In 1912 Mr. Saul entered his father's law office and devoted his attention to the reading of Blackstone and Kent until 1915, when he was admitted to the bar, since which time he has devoted himself closely to the practice of his profession, being in partnership with his father.  He has shown marked ability, having been identified as counsel with many important cases in the courts of this county, while as an advisor he is regarded as exceedingly sound and safe.  He was county attorney in 1920-21.